REUTERS/Bianca Flowers Acquire Licensing RightsSept 22 (Reuters) - Jeffrey Aznavorian has already cut output about 6% at his small auto parts factory outside Detroit due to the United Auto Workers strike. If the strike expands, it would only be a matter of weeks before some smaller suppliers faltered, said Marick Masters, a professor of business at Wayne State University. He estimates 30% of smaller suppliers carry too much debt to survive a long strike. Other measures also point to a supply base that was strained even before the strike. RapidRatings calculates "core health scores" for privately owned auto parts companies - based on a 100-point scale - which looks at their returns, cost structures, and capital structure.

---

Persons: Bianca Flowers, Jeffrey Aznavorian, Pittsburgh steelmaker, Laurie Harbour, Marick, James Gellert, Gellert, Timothy Aeppel, Andrea Ricci Organizations: Ford UAW, Detroit, REUTERS, United Auto Workers, Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, GM, Anderson Economic, Auto, CIE, Spain’s CIE Automotive, . Steel, Pittsburgh, Reuters, Harbour, Inc, Wayne State University, Thomson Locations: Chicago , Illinois, U.S, Detroit, Michigan, Midwest, Illinois, Southfield , Michigan, Plymouth , Michigan